Lost in Orbit: Side Orders
by FrozenSoldier
Summary: A place where you can find missing moments, memories and chapters I couldn’t fit into my main story, Lost in Orbit. All Human.
1. 31st October 2004

**A/N****: Here is the first instalment in the Lost in Orbit: Side Orders story. It is for all the missing moments, memories and chapters I couldn't fit into my main story, Lost in Orbit.**

**This scene was mentioned in chapter 16. You don't have to read the story to understand this. But it'll probably be best if you did, as there are two original characters in this chapter that you won't be familiar with.**

**Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Robbie are thirteen, whereas Bella is fourteen and Henry is fifteen.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own very much. But I do own Robbie Grayson and Henry McCarty. If you're going to be picky, then I guess I don't really own the surname McCarty. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer, as does everything else Twilight related.**

* * *

**Something to Tell the Grandkids**

**31****st**** October 2004**

**Alice POV**

"Emmett, you're crazy," I whispered as we stared up at the large iron gates that led into the cemetery. "You're even worse, Henry."

The brothers laughed, eliciting an eerie echo around the quiet area. I shivered and shuffled closer to Robbie, who was next to me.

"Oh, come on, Short Stuff, it'll be fun," Henry said, nudging me in my side. I rolled my eyes at his idea of _fun_.

"_Fun?_" Bella cried as she stared at him with wide eyes. "How is it fun to go into a cemetery, _at night, _on _Halloween_?"

"Blush," he began, making her glare at him. "You know we've talked about this. It's Halloween. It's like a tradition to go into a scary place."

It might have been a tradition, for him, at least. Last year, he'd dragged us all along, with a couple of his mates, to go into this creepy abandoned house on the outskirts of Forks. It was an experience I never wanted to go through again. I _had _vowed that I would never let Henry rope me into anything like that again.

That vow had clearly been broken.

"I told you not to call me that," Bella said, pouting. "I hate that nickname."

He smirked. "You know all you have to do is stop blushing and I will stop calling you it."

"Come _on_!" Emmett exclaimed, sounding impatient. "We're wasting time! Let's _do_ this already!"

Henry and Emmett walked forward, not bothering to wait for us anymore. I glanced at Bella and Rosalie. They both gave me scared glances before turning to watch the brothers disappear through the iron gates, and yes, into the darkness ahead of them.

Robbie pulled on my hand, signalling for me to walk in there with him. But I shook my head. He sighed and looked back towards the gates before untangling his fingers from mine and walking away from us. He was following the brothers inside.

"Robbie!" I cried, shocked. I made it sound as if he was walking to his death. If I wasn't so scared, I would have found it comical. Even if it was just a cemetery, I didn't want him going in there on his own.

I flashed the girls' one last look, before following in his footsteps.

"She's crazy," I heard Rosalie mutter from behind me. I smiled to myself as I stepped through the gates. Yes, I was definitely crazy.

I went straight towards where Robbie and Emmett were standing, looking into the darkness surrounding the church. I shuddered, but kept going. Henry wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Where the hell was he?

"My girl is brave," Robbie said as I came to stand next to him. I smiled up at him, momentarily forgetting that we were in a dark, scary cemetery. I looked away when I heard Emmett grumbling.

Robbie laughed just as Emmett handed him a five dollar bill. "This is so unfair. I was so certain that Rosie would be the first girl in here."

I blobbed my tongue out at him as he finished. I hadn't realised they'd placed a bet on which of us girls would be in here first.

"Where is Henry, anyway?" I asked as I looked around. I couldn't see him at all. "He isn't in there, is he?"

I pointed towards the dark area ahead of us, and they both laughed. "You'll see in a minute," Emmett muttered as he signalled towards the gate I'd just walked through. We all turned around to see Bella and Rosalie walking in, clutching each others hands tightly.

A second later, Henry jumped out from the darkness and _roared _at them. There was no other description for it. Both of them screamed louder than I'd ever heard them scream in my life. It was even louder than that time we were watching horror films on one of our sleepovers.

Bella was practically trembling as she turned and shot daggers at Henry, while Rosalie charged at him and started smacking him repeatedly wherever she could reach. He deserved it.

Emmett and Robbie were laughing their asses off beside me. I felt like slapping them myself for being such _boys_. After Rosalie had finished beating Henry down, she took hold of Bella's arm again and they made their way over to us pretty quickly.

"You're really, _really_ cruel, Henry!" I exclaimed as I shook my head at him. All he did was laugh in response. Was that all they ever responded with? I swear they laughed at everything these days.

"Yeah, you idiot, are you trying to give me a God damn _heart attack_?" Rosalie cried as she hit him yet again.

He dodged out of the way as she aimed at him once more. "Hey! Rosie, chill out, and quit smacking me! I don't see Blush hitting me. So why do you have to be so different?"

"Just look at her!" she shot back as she pointed at a very pale looking Bella. She really was quite fainthearted. But Henry knew that. Actually, it was probably why he did it. _Meany_.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" Henry asked lazily, knowing he was just winding Rosalie up even further.

"Hey, leave my girl alone," Emmett interrupted, _finally_. Rosalie gave him a winning smile before sticking her tongue out at Henry.

"Alright, enough of this," Robbie muttered. Now _he_ was the impatient one. "I thought we came in here as a dare, and not to rib each other. We could have done that back at the house."

I wanted to glare at him, or hit him like Rosalie had done with Henry. But I did neither.

"Let's split up," Henry said, grinning. "There are six of us here. I say we go in pairs and make a full lap of this place, and no cheating by cutting across the middle."

I looked at Robbie immediately and he nodded. I saw Rosalie glancing at Emmett, but before he could nod at her, Bella piped up.

"Oh, no you don't, Rosalie." She shook her head quickly, looking at Henry as if she didn't trust a bone in his body. "There's not a chance in hell that I'm going to walk around this place with Henry."

"What's wrong, Blush? Don't you wanna be in the dark with me?" he asked, as he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. Ever true to sticking by her nickname, she blushed furiously and looked away. Rosalie and I shared a quick, knowing glance. Bella had admitted to us a couple of weeks ago that she had a teensy crush on Henry, and with him making comments like that, it made us believe that he knew as well.

Maybe one day I'd have to play matchmaker with those two. I think, and I knew Rosalie would agree, that they would make a very cute couple. Below the relentless teasing, Henry cared for her immensely.

"Actually, Henry, I really wouldn't put it passed you to drag me out to the darkest part of this place, and then leave me to fend for myself," she muttered with a slight pout on her lips once again.

He chuckled as she finished. "No, Blush, I'd never do that to you."

And even though I knew he was telling the truth, I could still see the devious glint that never really seemed to leave his eyes.

"Well, brother, it looks like it will be you and me, then," Henry said with a sigh as he slapped Emmett on the shoulder.

But then he turned to look at Rosalie. "That is, of course, unless you want a couple of minutes in the dark with me, Rosie?"

Again, he wiggled his eyebrows. _You can tell he's nearly fifteen years old_. He had an innuendo for absolutely everything, and he was never shy to throw one out there, regardless of the situation he was in.

I sighed. Rosalie rolled her eyes. Emmett glared at his brother.

"As if," Rosalie scoffed. I had to smile at how audacious she always seemed to be. Even when we were younger, she was never one to back away from a challenge. Rosalie was the kind of person who said it how it was, and didn't take crap from anyone. It was one of the reasons why we were best friends.

But darkness, that was her weakness.

"Come on," Robbie whispered in my ear. I turned to look up at him, and smiled when he signalled for us to sneak away. I was still unsure about walking around this place in the dark, but with Robbie by my side, I guess I felt as if I could do anything if I tried.

I took his hand once again, and tangled our fingers together as we quietly walked away form the group, who were still bickering between themselves. I was apprehensive of my surroundings, as if I expected a zombie or vampire to suddenly jump out and kill us.

It was stupid of me to think like that. Nothing was going to happen. So what if there were dead people buried under every headstone that we passed?

_Okay, that isn't helping my situation, _I thought quickly as I tried to rid my mind of its current musings.

"Let's go this way," Robbie whispered as he nodded towards the pathway that led towards the church.

I frowned, but followed him nonetheless. I thought the whole point of the stupid dare was so that we went around the _outside _of the cemetery, and not through the middle. Technically, that was cheating, but who was I to complain? It wasn't as if I actually _wanted_ to follow the rules Henry set.

But as he led me towards the side of the church, I began to wonder what he was actually doing. It was only when we got right up to wall, and he stopped, that I questioned him.

"Why are we stopping here, Robbie?" I asked in a hushed voice, as if I was worried that someone would hear me. He smiled and wordlessly pulled me closer to him.

"We're stopping because I would like a couple of minutes in the dark with you," he murmured as a nervous smile played across his lips. His comment made butterflies flutter excitedly in my stomach. I'd never felt like this before, but the sensation felt nice.

It was completely silent as I watched him bite his bottom lip nervously. But I really couldn't figure out what he was actually nervous about.

Then he leant towards me ever so slightly and delicately placed his lips onto mine. Oh, _oh_.

This kiss wasn't like the one he'd given me on my birthday. Because this time, he didn't pull away, and even though I didn't really know what I was doing, I was glad he didn't.

He shifted ever so slightly in front of me as he reached up and brushed his finger along my cheek. His movements were tentative, but still, I was on cloud nine.

I could feel his hesitancy as he pulled away briefly, before tilting his head ever so slightly to the side and pressing his lips to mine with a little more force than before. I didn't really know how to react, so I found myself mimicking him.

The kiss wasn't amazing, and it didn't make my toes tingle, like those girls would say in the magazines. But it was unique, it was perfect. But most of all, it was us.

I wanted to reach up and place my hand on his cheek, but I was too chicken to do it. So I left them floating idly between us.

Then suddenly, from just around the corner, someone let out a blood curdling scream. We both pulled away, and I screamed my head off as my eyes darted in the direction of the scream, where I was half expecting a crazy axe woman to come tearing around the corner.

Seconds after I screamed, Robbie wrapped his arms around me protectively, and pulled me against his chest. Due to our height difference, my ear was pressed right where his heart was. His frantic heartbeat was so loud that it was all I could hear. But it made me feel better, because it reminded me that I wasn't alone.

But then I heard something else, something that made me eyes narrow into tiny slits. I heard two people laughing. It was two very _familiar_ people laughing, in fact.

"I'm going to kill you two!" I screeched as I pulled away from Robbie. I stormed, rather courageously, I might like to add, around the corner, where I found Henry and Emmett standing, clutching at the stomachs as they laughed uncontrollably. There was a portable cassette radio player beside them.

They didn't even try to dodge out of the way as I stomped forward and slapped them as hard as I could across the arm. Robbie came to stand next to me a second later, with a very irritated expression on his face.

"You two are complete and utter idiots," he hissed, glaring at them both. I'd never seen him so annoyed like this before. Was it wrong of me to feel happy, knowing that he was angry because our kiss got interrupted? For I was sure as hell feeling happy, even though I still wanted to squeal in frustration.

"Aw, were you scared, Robbie?" Henry asked in an annoyingly babyish voice. "Did you think that some big old lady was going to come running around the corner with a chainsaw?"

"Oh, shut up, you idiot," he muttered crossly. "I was not scared."

We all knew he was lying, considering how his heart rate had tripled the moment we heard the scream. But I wasn't going to mention it because I couldn't blame him, really. I was absolutely terrified myself, and from the shared expression on the brothers' faces, I knew they weren't about show him up by calling him out on his blatant lie.

"Oh well," Robbie said with a sigh as he turned to look at me. "I guess it's something to tell the grandkids, huh, Alice?"

I giggled over the numerous butterflies that were setting up home in my stomach, and then nodded. "I guess it is, Robbie."

Emmett and Henry both gave us questioning looks as Robbie and I tangled our hands together yet again. I was sure that, at some point, Robbie would tell Emmett what had happened before they interrupted us just now. They always seemed to talk about that kind of thing with each other. But right now, it was going to be our little secret.

It was silent for a long moment, which was a very rare occasion when we were together like this. I took that moment to look around, noticing that we were missing two people from our group.

"Hey, has anyone seen Rosalie and Bella?" I asked, making us all simultaneously look around.

They were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

**A/N****: So what did you think? Did you like seeing them all when they were younger? Wasn't Alice and Robbie's first proper kiss so cute? I thought so, anyway.**

**If you're wondering where Edward was, then I'll remind you that he doesn't arrive in Forks until about halfway through 2005. If Edward wasn't in this story, then Bella and Henry would **_**so **_**have been together.**

**If you're wondering where Jasper is (and you've read Lost in Orbit) then I'm going to slap you. If you haven't read that story, then Jasper doesn't turn up until September 2008.**

**And if there is a certain scene, or a memory that you would like to see that isn't already in the story. Then feel free to tell me. You never know, I might actually write it for you.**


	2. 14th March 2005

**A/N****: This was requested by vegetarianvamps (possibly others, too). It is the day Edward arrived at Forks High. It is Emmett's POV, maybe one day I'll do something from Edward's POV to do with this day.**

**Disclaimer****: I own Henry and Lewis McCarty. I also own Emmett and Edward… *shifty eyes***

* * *

**Edward's Arrival**

**14****th**** March 2005**

**Emmett POV**

I stood with my two brothers and watched as a bronze haired boy stepped out of a sleek, black Mercedes. He looked around nervously before turning back to the front of the car as a woman, whom I could only assume was his mother, stepped out.

She walked forward and wrapped her arms around him. I could tell, even from where we were standing, that he was embarrassed by her behaviour. He was the first to pull away, but she still didn't let him go. Instead, she placed her hands on his cheeks and said something to him.

"If Ma did that to me, I swear I'd leave school," Lewis muttered. I shared a glance with Henry and rolled my eyes.

"Shut up, Lew," Henry said with a sigh. "You know Ma doesn't do any of that kind of shit because she knows you'll kick up a fuss."

Lewis was still only twelve years old, and unlike most other twelve year olds who had their mothers bring them to the school gate, our mother dropped us off just down the road from the school. She was cool like that, and thought just because Lewis didn't want to be seen with her, then me and Henry didn't, either.

Sure, I didn't want an embarrassing show of mothering like the new kid had, but I wouldn't be embarrassed if Ma dropped us off outside the front of the school. Sometimes I just wanted to slap Lewis on the back of the head. Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

The school bell rang then, signalling the start of our first class. I said goodbye to Henry and Lewis before making my way inside. My first couple of classes flew by, and only a few people mentioned the new arrival. Apparently he was in our year, which meant he would quite possibly be sharing some classes with me.

* * *

"So, has anyone actually talked to him yet?" I asked as I continued to devour my lunch.

"I did, earlier. His name is Edward, and his family moved here from Chicago. He's cute," Alice mused, smiling softly. Robbie pulled a face and turned to look at her. She merely shrugged her shoulders, her smile turning into a grin just to tease him.

"I didn't see anything special about him," Robbie muttered petulantly. I snickered at his appalled expression.

"That is because you're a boy. Now for us girls, well, he's _very_ cute," Rosalie agreed, making the snicker die on my lips immediately.

"Hey," I cried, as if she had wounded me. Glancing at Robbie, I saw a smug expression plastered across his face. I tried to ignore him as best I could.

"I haven't seen him yet," Bella said, sounding almost disappointed that we'd all seen him and she hadn't.

Just as she spoke, I happened to look up at the doors, and saw just the person we had been talking about walk through the doors.

"Talk of the devil," I murmured, nodding towards the entrance. "Why don't you take a look for yourself now, Bella?"

She looked around immediately and for a long moment, she just watched him walk towards the food bar. When she turned back to her front, she was blushing and was more silent than she usually was.

I smiled, but didn't say anything, even when I noticed her glancing over at him a couple more times. I couldn't blame her; she wasn't the only one looking. We all were.

The new kid – _Edward_ – bought nothing but an apple and a bottle of water. He kept his head down as he paid, and only once did he look up and happen to glance at our table.

Bella looked away again, letting her hair fall over her face, and by the time she'd looked up again, Edward had walked towards the exit, ran a hand through his messy hair, and left the building.

"Told you he was cute," Alice murmured, grinning at her best friend.

Bella frowned at her. "I didn't notice."

I think we _all_ turned to give her an 'are you serious?' kind of look. But before any of us could say anything, the bell signifying the start of our last class rang out.

"I'll see you guys later," Bella said, standing up abruptly. "I have to get to my Biology class."

We all watched in amazement, as she walked away without another word. A shared glance was passed between us all, as we, too, stood up to go to our next class.

* * *

"What the hell is taking Lewis so long?" I demanded to Henry, wanting to go home already.

When I didn't get a response, I looked at my brother. "Do you know what class he had last?"

Still, he didn't respond. "Oi!" I yelled, pushing against his arm. "I'm talking to you."

He turned to look at me, glaring. "What?"

"I asked you if you knew what class Lewis had last today," I replied, wondering what his problem was.

"How the hell should I know?" was his only response as he turned away and focused his gaze on something across the parking lot. Frowning, I followed his line of sight and straight away saw Bella walking side by side with Edward. They were talking, Edward laughing once at something Bella said. She nudged him with her elbow, making him laugh again.

Was that a bit of flirting I saw from Bella? I smiled to myself, knowing I just _had_ to talk to Bella about this tomorrow.

"I guess that means Bella had a class with Edward."

Henry's head snapped in my direction. "Who? Oh. _Him_. He doesn't waste his time, does he?"

His abruptness took me by surprise. "He doesn't waste time with what?"

"Forget it." He pushed passed me. "I'm going to wait by the car. Lewis better hurry the fuck up."

I stared after him as he stormed off, completely bewildered.

_What the hell crawled up his ass_?

* * *

**A/N****: Hope you liked it. Did you guess what was wrong with Henry? It was mentioned in chapter 46 that Henry didn't like Edward from the time they met, for no apparent reason. Henry likes Bella and he saw Bella and Edward flirting. Henry got jealous, hence his snarky attitude near the end. *shakes head* Teenage boys can get really silly and jealous sometimes.**

**You can't mess with canon, Henry!**

**I tried to mix a couple of aspects in from the books. For instance, when Bella first sees Edward, it is in the cafeteria, and the first time she talks to him is in her Biology class.**


	3. 6th October 2008

**A/N****: This was originally meant to be the start to chapter 10, but I removed it. My beta suggested I started the chapter where it starts now. I edited this version slightly, but I'm still not completely happy with it. It's an outtake, though, so don't expecting anything spectacular.**

**Disclaimer****: I own my original characters, Stephenie Meyer owns hers.**

* * *

**Car Crash**

**6****th**** October 2008**

**Emmett POV**

She was waiting for me by the car, as she always did. My beautiful Rosalie. I don't think she really understood how much I adored her for putting up with my brothers. Lewis was currently chatting with her about God knows what. That kid came out with so much useless crap it was almost funny, and it probably _would_ have been funny if it wasn't so damn annoying.

"Hey, babe," I said as soon as I was close enough to reach out to her. She giggled lightly as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pushed her softy against the door of my Jeep.

"Hey you," she murmured as I brought my lips onto hers slowly. I heard Lewis make a gagging sound, followed by his footsteps as he walked away. I smiled against her lips because I knew Lewis was just jealous. He'd admitted to me once that he had a crush on her. I _tried _not to rub it in his face that she was _my _girl. I left my arms wrapped around her waist as I pulled away.

I just couldn't keep my hands off her.

"Are you coming over later?" she asked with a hopeful tone.

"Just so I can get attacked by your little brothers again?" I replied, raising my eyebrows. Rosalie had two little brothers, James and Freddie. They were twins, or as I liked to call them, the devil's minions. Every time I went over to Rosalie's, they made it their main objective in life to bring me down. It was kind of cute in a 'aw, look at them kids trying to beat up that big kid' sort of way.

"Aw, big bwoy Emmett is scared of the ickle boys," she said, putting on a childish voice.

I glared at her playfully. "Ribbing me again, Rosie?"

"Only so you will come over later," she replied as she pouted adorably. As soon as she pulled that face I knew I was a goner.

"As if I could resist saying yes when you have a face like that," I murmured as I leant in and brought my lips to hers once again.

"Get a room!"

Rosalie and I started laughing against each others lips. I pulled away and glanced over my shoulder. I grinned at Robbie who was standing there smirking at us. I'd told him exactly the same thing a million times before.

"Don't worry mate, we will," I replied as a mischievous look spread across my face. Rosalie giggled in front of me and tightened her hold around my waist.

"So, should I tell the twins that a rematch will be set for about five?" she asked. I just sighed and nodded, there wasn't any point in putting off the inevitable. Maybe I would pick them up and hang them up on the coat pegs with the back of their hoods. I chuckled slightly at the idea.

Rosalie gave me an enquiring look, but I just shook my head at her. "It doesn't matt-"

But I was cut short as the sound of screeching tyres echoed around the parking lot. It all happened so quickly, then. Nobody could have stopped it; nobody could have done anything to prevent it.

All I could do was watch as Robbie's body slammed into the car. My heart crashed into my ribcage as Alice's scream filled my ears.

The eerie silence that followed was short lived. I didn't think about what I was doing as I sprinted forward, sliding over the bonnet of the car and falling down beside Robbie and Alice.

His left leg was bent, distorted at an odd angle. I couldn't look at it. _Fuck_. I leant over him, just as Alice was. His eyes were open, barely, and his chest was slowly rising up and down.

"Come on, Robbie, look at me, come on," I pleaded, my voice shaking, terror radiating from every word. "Just hang in there, okay? You're not going to fucking leave us."

My eyes filled with tears when nothing happened. I could hear Alice's sobs coming from beside me, but her words were lost over the throbbing in my ears.

The breath caught in my throat as his eyes opened slowly, his gaze drifting from my face to Alice's.

"Robbie?" I cried, getting closer. "You can hear us? Keep your eyes open, Robbie, you…you stay with us. The paramedics are nearly here!"

The words were jilted, kept getting caught in my throat. I was shouting them, but I didn't care. He had to stay, he had to listen.

The paramedics, when they arrived, crowded around him, each muttering instructions to each other. The man in charge told me to move back, nearly pushed me away as he did so.

"I need you to _move_," he said sternly. The second paramedic took hold of my shoulders, shook me slightly.

"Son, you need to let us work over your friend," he told me, his voice calm but urgent. That was when I snapped back, numbly taking hold of Alice and pulling her backwards.

Tears were streaming from her eyes, but she didn't fight against me. I don't think she could. She merely stared at Robbie, her lips moving with words that I could not hear.

We were shaking, crying, and my breathing was coming in short gasps, my chest constricting every time I tried to breathe in. I scanned their faces, tried to hear the words they were saying to each other.

It was then that I saw them look at each other. It was that look which told me he was gone.

My best friend was dead.

* * *

**A/N****: Hope you liked it. Some of it may look familiar as I did alter some parts and mix them into chapter nine and ten instead.**


	4. 5th January 2009

******A/N: ********This is an outtake from chapter 24. I mentioned in the author notes that in the first draft, Jasper did actually carry her into school. Well, here it is. I added a little bit from the chapter, too, just so it made a little more sense.**

**I thought I'd add this here, but remember, it did not happen in the main story.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer.**

* * *

**Carry You Through**

**5****th**** January 2009**

**Alice POV**

"I can't do this," I said as I grounded me feet, refusing to move. Jasper didn't try to force me.

"You can," he assured me.

I didn't believe him.

"No, Jasper, I really can't," I gasped as tears started rolling from my eyes. I began to get shortness of breath yet again. I couldn't do this. I couldn't walk into school again without Robbie by my side. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, Robbie was always by my side on the first day back to school.

But now he was gone, and I had to walk by the spot where his life had ended. How was I meant to do that? How was I meant to look at the place it happened and just ignore the fact it was the last place I saw him?

As if he knew that I was questioning everything again, he sighed and looked around. "Give me your bag."

"What?"

"Give me your bag," he repeated as he held out his hand for it. I did as he told and passed it to him then watched in astonishment as he slung it over his shoulder with his own bag.

My brow furrowed in confusion, but thankfully my tears dried up. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to carry you," he stated simply.

I was speechless as he finished. "But…you…"

"No buts, Alice," he said, silencing me. "If you can't walk through there on your own then I'll do it for you."

I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off again as he raised his eyebrow at me. I guess I was about to start my sentence with _but_.

"You won't be able to carry me," I whispered as I stepped towards him nonetheless.

He smiled weakly. "I'm sure I'll manage, Alice."

I frowned but didn't say anything else as he stepped towards me. I was about to ask him how he was actually planning on picking me up when he bent down and easily lifted me from the ground.

A gasp escaped me as he tightened his hold around my body. "Are you okay?"

I searched his voice to see if it was struggling to hold me, but it didn't sound strained at all. In fact, he sounded as he always did.

"Yeah," I squeaked as he slowly started to move. He made me feel like I weighed ten pounds.

"Alice, close your eyes," he murmured gently. I didn't need telling twice as I tightly shut my eyes and leant towards his chest. I tried not to think about anything as he carried me through the parking lot.

I didn't open my eyes when I heard two people call my name. I knew that it was Rosalie and Emmett; they would follow us inside. I still didn't open my eyes even when I felt the warmth of the heating inside the school. Regardless, Jasper was still walking and so I'd only open them once he's stopped.

"Alice?" Emmett and Rosalie cried simultaneously as I heard them run towards us.

"She's okay," Jasper told them, only slightly out of breath. "You can open your eyes now," he whispered to me. I slowly allowed my eyes to open and inwardly sighed in relief when I noticed that we were in one of the more empty corridors next to the entrance.

Jasper slowly let me down and I wiped my eyes free of any tears before turning to face Emmett and Rosalie.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sure you'll agree (again) that it was better Alice walked through the car park on her own.**


	5. 26th April 2009

**A/N****: This was taken from chapter 33 when Emmett and Henry brought Jasper home from the park. I always wondered what Sylvia had been feeling when she saw Jasper in the state he was. If you wondered what all the little looks Emmett noticed meant, then I hope this answers any and all questions.**

**Disclaimer****: I own Sylvia, Emily and hottie *coughs* I mean Henry, but Stephenie Meyer owns Jasper and Emmett. I love my OC, but seriously, if I could own Jasper and Emmett…well… *grins***

* * *

**What Did He Do to Himself?**

**26****th**** April 2009**

**Sylvia POV**

He'd woken up and came downstairs with an emotional darkness in his eyes that terrified me. I couldn't even look at him properly, and I'd kicked myself for it. I knew my son; I knew that he hated when people couldn't look him in the eye.

Even his mother couldn't do it.

I shouldn't have let him leave. Why did I do that? Why did I not chase after him? I should have. I should have made him stay inside, where I could have looked after him.

But I didn't, and as I looked over to my left, at my beautiful little girl, I knew why I'd stayed. I couldn't have left her on her own, not like that.

However, now I was sitting, watching the clock, wondering where he was, what he was doing, and when he was going to come back home. Today was a bad day, a very bad day, and I'd been dreading it for months now. I'd tried to work out how I was going to distract him.

I'd thought if I could make the day as normal as possible, it wouldn't be as bad. But when I'd seen him, seen the look in his eyes, I knew that it was going to be ten times worse than I ever imagined.

There was a loud knock at the door, and it made me jump violently. Who was it? The police? Someone had seen him? _Jasper_? God, I couldn't even think. But when I got to the door, I wasn't expecting who it actually was.

"Are you Mrs Whitlock?" the tall, brawny male asked. I winced at the name he'd used, but nodded nonetheless. "I'm Emmett, one of Jasper's friends."

_Emmett, Emmett…_I think I recognised that name from before. But I didn't try to wrack my brains to find out. If he was here, that meant he was looking for Jasper, and I didn't know where he was.

"Are you looking for him?" I asked, hesitant.

Something in his eyes changed for the briefest of moments. "No. I found him…passed out in the park."

I gasped loudly, covering my mouth with my hand. _Passed out_? What had he done? What did he do to himself? Did they take him to the hospital? Within a second, I knew I would leave Emily with the neighbour, run to the hospital, for I had no other means of transport.

"Where is he? Was he breathing? Did you call an ambulance?" I asked, a second later. I was frantic, I needed to know; I needed to get to my son immediately.

Emmett sighed, turning around. I was about to demand where he was going when he signalled to someone. I nearly screamed when I saw him. My boy, my baby boy, was being held up by someone else. His head was hanging down in front of him. He looked semi-conscious.

I rushed forward a moment later and took his face in my hands. I needed him to open his eyes, anything. But then I smelt it. _Alcohol_. It was strong, exuded from him.

_No_. Please, _no_.

My hands fell from his face and I turned back to his friend. "What did he do to himself?"

"There was an alcohol bottle nearby. It was nearly empty," he said, looking at Jasper.

The heat drained from my body as his words sunk in. I'd known already, but to hear it. _No_. This was my fault. My eyes filled with tears at the thought. He was too young to buy alcohol, there was only one place he could have gotten the bottle.

"What drink?" I asked, my voice barely there, sickened.

He frowned. "It was a bottle of Jack Daniels."

The nausea rolled through me as if I had been the one to actually drink it. _Yes_, this had been my fault. The bottle had been mine. I'd asked him to take it away from me.

I may as well have unscrewed the cap and poured it for him.

A dog barked, snapping me back from my thoughts. I looked at the one holding Jasper and signalled for him to take him inside. I went ahead of them, calling for Emily.

She gave me a long stare when she saw my face. "Just stay in the kitchen, okay, baby girl?"

She nodded, and I held back my tears. She looked as small as I felt sitting at the kitchen table.

When I got back out into the hallway, I pointed towards the main room, and he led Jasper in, lying him down on the couch. I crouched down next to him, ran my fingers through his hair.

"You silly boy," I whispered so quietly that no one else would heard, letting the tears fall. "You should not have done this."

Someone cleared their throat behind me, making me jump and stand up. It was the one who knocked, Emmett, the other had already left.

"Thank you for bringing him back home," I told him, knowing I had to say something now or I'd never have the chance.

"Its okay, Mrs Whitlock," he replied. "I'm just glad I found him when I did."

When I made a move towards the door to let him out, he stopped me and said he could let himself out. I was grateful. I wanted to get back to Jasper immediately.

Not listening for the door to close, I sat back down next to Jasper. Tears streamed down my face as I watched, waited for him to open his eyes.

"I should have asked you to pour it down the sink," I said quietly, wishing I could go back in time. I'd take the pain I'd felt that day, I'd go through it all again, just so he didn't have to suffer like this.

I couldn't have prevented Maria's anniversary, but I could have prevented him from going down the road he did. Drowning your sorrows, it never worked, it never made you forget. It just buried you further into the mess the problem created in the first place.

As I brushed my fingers along his cheek, I knew that I was going to make it my main objective to stop him from making the same mistakes I had. I was going to be a good mother.

Most of all, I was not going to let him turn into his father.

* * *

**A/N****: I hope you liked it. I've never written from the POV of an OC before, and especially not one from someone who is the age Sylvia is (during this outtake she is 36 years old).**

**As always, if there is an outtake you'd like to see, let me know.**


	6. 4th April 2008

**A/N: This scene was mentioned in chapter 67. It was written for the Fandom For Heroes compilation. Hope you like it!**

**The banner time_lights made is on my blog, if you wanted to take a look.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**One Month**

**4th April 2008**

**Jasper POV**

I stared at the dark ceiling, counting the shadows. Peter and Charlotte were curled up on the bed opposite me. They'd been talking between themselves, but their breathing had evened out a while ago. They were asleep.

I hadn't been awarded such luxuries.

Sleep tended to evade me; it had done since the start of the year. Since the day the doctors put a number in my head, to be more exact.

_Four months_.

That's what they told us; that's all she had, four months. Except it was April, and her time was nearly up. It was rough estimate, they said, it wasn't set in stone. But they'd stopped any treatment which would make her better. Now it was pain relief and palliative chemotherapy…the kind of treatment they used when they wanted their terminally ill patient to be as comfortable as possible.

She was going to die, and they were merely clearing the way.

I sat up, my stomach churning unbearably. The clock on the wall said it was one thirty in the morning, exactly two hours since I last saw Maria. She'd grown tired, and her eyelids had started to droop so Kathy shooed us from the room to let her get some sleep.

We always spent our weekends together – the four of us, but today was a little different – Maria had been awake longer than usual. It was a welcomed change, and none of us wanted to leave. In the end, Kathy pointed towards the spare room and told us to get some rest.

Peter and Charlotte had eventually been successful, and as I glanced at them, I felt the familiar rush of something akin to envy. What I envied them for, though, I couldn't quite say.

Was it the fact they were able to sleep at night? No, I knew they struggled with it, too – their school grades were slipping just as much as mine were. The envy was something far deeper than that, though the reason itself was almost too simple.

The truth was they could _hold_ each other. They could cry, or maybe just lapse into a silence so deep they couldn't even find the words to break it.

I couldn't do any of that.

I couldn't hold Maria; her body was too weak, her joints ached, and I was too damn frightened to put my arms around her case it hurt too much. Crying was also out of the question. Maria knew exactly what this illness was doing to those around her, and I didn't want her to suffer any more than she already was. All that left was the silence, and every moment spent quietly was another moment I'd never get back.

At that, I very nearly snorted into the quiet room. Who the hell was I kidding?

Every moment away from her was a moment wasted. I was wasting my time right now. What the fuck was I going to achieve sitting here? If it wasn't so hard to be away from Maria, I'd have ditched this shit and gone home already.

Mom was drowning in her own problems, and I was too lost to help her in the same way as she was too lost to be around when I needed someone to lean on. There just wasn't enough of me left for her. But Emily had an unadulterated sense of purity and innocence I couldn't find anywhere else.

Being with her was one of the biggest escapes I could find. She didn't even need to be awake; I found respite in merely sitting by her bed while she slept. In those situations, I wasn't selfish enough to wake her, but sometimes I didn't need to.

Every now and then she would wake up on her own accord, almost as if she knew I was there. More often than not, she would find me crouched beside her bed, crying like a fucking baby because I couldn't let it out anywhere else. As fucked up as it was, I'd found _crying_ to be my greatest form of release when I was with her.

It was an odd feeling. Years ago, I'd have scoffed at anyone who told me I'd be sitting in a dark room, vulnerable and crying. Jasper Whitlock didn't _cry_. Yet in the past few years, things had changed. Since my father left, since Maria was diagnosed…something had broken inside me, something that couldn't be repaired.

I was broken, a faulty piece of equipment.

In moments like those, it was one of the few times it didn't feel like I was falling apart with every tear that fell. With anyone else, it felt as though I was splitting at the seams.

The worst part was I secretly hoped Emily would wake up and find me. Whenever she did, she wouldn't say a word, something I was certain the others would have done. She'd merely climb out of bed and wait, not moving until I'd crawled into the small space she'd left me.

I knew what she wanted every time because it was exactly what I craved.

Her kindergarten teacher taught the class about caring for others – at the time, they'd demonstrated with stuffed toys and plastic dolls. Ever since then, I'd become Emily's number one patient. She would take care of me because that's exactly what her teacher taught her to do.

She even went as far as pulling the covers over me, waiting until I was settled before climbing in beside me. Yet that wasn't it; that wasn't the most crucial part. It was when she shuffled closer, wrapping her tiny arms around me as best she could.

Emily was only four years old, but she was giving me the one thing I needed the most.

Someone to hold.

But Emily wasn't here; she was tucked up in bed in the house across the yard. If I went to the window, I'd just about be able to make out her window, but that was it. She was too far away, whereas Maria was just across the hall.

Somehow, even that felt too far.

Making a split second decision, I swung my legs out of bed and quietly padded across the room. With one last glance at my friends, I gently opened the door and slipped into the cool, dark hallway.

My eyes zeroed on Maria's bedroom door, realising too late that the door was shut, and there was no way I could open it without waking her up. She was a light sleeper, always had been, and the last thing she needed was for me to wake her up just because I couldn't sleep and wanted to sit with her.

I knew her, though. If I was awake, she'd do all she could to keep her eyes open.

The floorboard creaked beneath me as I lingered outside her door, not knowing what my next move would be. I went to reach for the handle a number of times before catching myself and pulling back again. I couldn't do this, I couldn't wake her up.

What the hell was I thinking?

I was about to turn away, the floorboard creaking once again, when I heard it.

"Jasper, you _can_ come in, you know."

The voice was quiet, but unmistakably Maria's. I felt the corners of my mouth twisting upwards as I turned the handle and entered the room. The tension eased from my body as I saw her watching me from her position on the bed. She looked tired, but amused, and my heart started beating a little faster. I'd really missed that little glint in her eyes.

"How did you know it was me?" I asked quietly as I got closer.

She smiled. "Who else would be hovering outside my door at two in the morning?"

_Good point_, I thought as I reached for the chair, pulling it closer to her bed. She frowned the moment I sat down, staring at the chair as though it was her worst enemy. It took me all of two seconds to remember why.

Maria hated people sitting beside her bed when she was lying down. It made her feel small, and it felt like a kick to the gut to know I hadn't remembered. But before I could slip to the floor and kneel beside her, she eased across the bed, creating a space beside her.

"Lie down with me, will you?"

I opened my mouth to protest – there wasn't enough room for the both of us, not anymore, not with the medical paraphernalia and general lack of space in the single bed. But she stopped me in my tracks.

"Please, Jay…"

I swallowed heavily and nodded once. I couldn't deny her anything, not when she pleaded with me.

Making sure not to jostle her too much, I settled myself in the space she provided, lying on my side so I could face her. My hand found hers resting between us. She sighed delicately at the contact and curled our fingers together.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said after a while. "The night sky, I mean."

I shifted so I could see out the window directly in line with her bed. When things had gradually gotten worse and Maria became bedridden, she'd requested for her bed to be moved so she could see out the window from where she lay. She hadn't closed her curtains since.

"Beautiful," I agreed, knowing the lie fell flat. Everything lacked dimension now our days together were slipping by, and nothing held my attention like it used to. If Maria picked up on the flatness of my response, she chose not to comment.

"I saw the moon earlier," she said, smiling again. "Do you know what it made me think about?"

Unable to answer her verbally, I merely shook my head.

"It reminded me of when we were ten and we stayed outside the whole night, do you remember? We had to wait until our parents were asleep because we knew they wouldn't let us do it if they found out."

"I remember. We used our flashlights to signal to one another from our bedroom windows," I said, my voice hoarse as the memory of that night hit me harder than I expected. "Once to say they were still awake, two for if they were going to bed, and…"

"…three for the all clear," she said, finishing my sentence. Silence fell as the weight of those two words sat heavily upon us. _All clear_…to everyone else, they were nothing more than words, but to us, to our friends and family, the all clear was something we'd prayed for, back when there was still hope.

I swallowed over the lump which had formed in my throat, forcing those thoughts away. Now was not the time to let that shit fester; if I did, there was no way I could control it, let alone hide it. Maria always saw right through me.

"I think we lasted for maybe an hour, if that." Her tone was wistful now, with the barest hint of sadness that tore at my self-control. "We were in so much trouble the following morning. They assumed we'd run away together. They never thought to check the backyard first."

"It was worth it, though." My voice was all but a whisper now, and my eyes were burning from the effort to prevent my emotions from getting the better of me. "That was the first time you fell asleep in my arms."

Her eyes flickered shut as she trailed her thumb across my hand. "I'm never going to forget that night."

My stomach clenched as her words slammed into me like a wrecking ball. Any resolve I'd been holding onto slithered away as I felt the first tear trickle from my eye. The moment could have been saved had it only been the one tear. Her eyes were closed; she wouldn't have seen it. But the trembling was something I couldn't prevent.

She could feel it in my hands, and though I knew I should have pulled away, I couldn't bring myself to let her go. I could see it on her face the moment she realised I was crying. She didn't open her eyes, but the crease on her brow was enough.

Seconds later, I felt her grip tighten on my hand. "I love you, Jasper."

A sob built up on my chest as I scrunched my eyes shut. Everything around us reminded me of what was to come. The tiredness in her voice, the weakness in her grip…it all totalled towards one thing.

She was dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

A shudder tore through me at the thought, my tears coming thicker and faster. I wanted to stop, but the ache in my chest was growing stronger and stronger, threatening to shatter me heart into a hundred different pieces. It was taking everything I had not to cry out.

I felt my heart break as I watched a single tear roll down her cheek. In that instant, I knew this was why I never wanted to breakdown in front of her. It was too painful to see her cry, knowing there was nothing I could do, and the moment was only made worse as I realised I was willing to force this onto my little sister, instead.

She didn't deserve that…but, none of us deserved what was happening.

Edging closer, I pressed a kiss to her head scarf, allowing my lips to linger. I closed my eyes and inhaled her warmth, urging it to help calm the quivering, to stop the tears.

"I love you, too," I whispered brokenly against her cheek, biting back a sob, wishing I could pull her closer and tuck her against my side. I wished I could kiss her and feel her arms around me, her heart beating against my chest.

Most of all, I wished I could change this, change what was happening to the girl I loved, and change the fact she only had a month left.

_One month_.

How was I going to live without her?

The question seemed so generic and overused. People asked the very same question for things such as possessions or physical objects. It was thrown about carelessly. But the true meaning of the question ran far deeper than that; it was bottomless – there was no answer. I simply couldn't function without Maria and the mere thought of her not being here was tearing me apart, burning a hole through my already battered heart and replacing it was ice cold fear.

She had a month; that was her sentence. Once her time was up, the ice would break and I would plunge through to the darkness that lay beyond. Even now, I could already the ice creak beneath me, unstable.

What _was_ a month? What was it even worth?

A month could hold so much. It could bring happiness and excitement, bringing things that made you wish the days would pass quicker. But when I heard those words…

_You only have one month to live_.

…a month meant nothing at all. It wasn't enough, nowhere near enough compared to the life I'd dreamed we would have together. I'd imagined us married, with children and maybe a pet or two running around. I'd pictured us growing old together, our children starting a family of their own.

The worst part was I only started imagining our future when I knew we'd never have one. Now her final month really _was_ passing quickly. That wish had been granted, and our last days together were slipping through my fingers like grains of sand, too small for me to hold onto.

In the silence of the room, I could hear it, trickling away.

* * *

**A/N: It's never easy writing this kind of thing, but I did enjoy the chance to delve into Jasper's past. Let me know what you think.**


	7. 21st July 2010

**A/N****: The premise of this is that Jasper has gone to Seattle for a three day work experience with his father and the company he works for.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Twilight.**

* * *

**Honeymoon Period**

**21****st**** July 2010**

**Alice POV**

Rosalie snapped her fingers in my face, making me jump. I broke out of my daze and looked at her sheepishly. She was the closest one to me, yet there were three other sets of eyes watching me, too.

"Sorry, you guys," I mumbled, sitting up a little straighter in the chair. We were at Emmett's house, not that Sarah needed any more teenagers under her roof, and I was missing Jasper like crazy. He'd been gone for only a day, and I still had another two days to go before I saw him next.

"That's the third time you've done that today," Rosalie muttered, shooting me a teasing glare. "He's been gone maybe twenty-four hours, and he's going to be home again in two days. I dread to think what you'd be like if you had to go months apart like Emmett and I had to."

I pulled a face, feeling the faint sense of anxiety settling into my stomach. What would I do if I had to go months without Jasper? I'd probably go insane, and I was certain Jasper would, too.

"To be fair, Rose, you and Emmett have been together so long you're practically married these days," Bella mused, smiling to herself. "I think it was a healthy that you had that time apart."

Emmett chuckled as Bella glanced at me. "Besides, Alice and Jasper are in the _honeymoon_ period. I remember what that was like. Where the world was seen through rose tinted glasses and going even a couple hours apart was hard."

Looking away from them all, I tried to hide the grin on my face. Bella was right, and I didn't want them to see how much I loved being in the honeymoon period. It had been so long since I'd felt anything like this, and I was revelling in how _happy_ it made me.

However, being apart from Jasper, I could only feel half of that happiness, as if the other half was with him, and only when we were together was it whole again. The realisation should have been scary to know that, at nineteen, it felt as if I'd be living a half life if we spent our time apart.

As much as I loved Robbie, as strong as our bond had been, I couldn't remember it ever feeling like this.

"Right, that's it," Rosalie said, snapping me from my thoughts once again. "I'm calling Jasper."

My eyes widened and I sat up higher. "No, Rose, he might be bus-"

But she'd found his number already and put the phone to her ear. I watched, chewing on my lip, to see if Jasper was going to answer. The only reason I hadn't been calling him myself was because I'd been worried I'd disrupt him. We talked in the evening, but the daytime, I never knew when he would be free.

"Hey, Jasper," Rosalie said, sitting back in her seat as he answered the phone. I perked up a little, now wishing I were the one on the phone. "No, everything is fine here. We're just at Emmett's house…"

She paused. "Yeah, Alice is here, too."

I smiled to hear he'd asked after me, but tried to hide it on my face as I listened to what else Rosalie had to say.

"She's just sitting there, off in her own little world," she continued, flashing me a quick grin as she listened to Jasper's response. "Yeah, I was hoping you could tell her you'll be back in a few days so she can join in when we talk to her."

Rosalie laughed at something he said, and then passed the phone over to me. I took it eagerly, bringing it to me ear immediately.

"I miss you, too, Alice," he said softly, obviously sensing I now had the phone. My body relaxed completely at the sound of his voice. He knew I was acting up because I missed him, and strangely, that thought comforted me.

"Now you have to do what Rosalie says, okay? I'm forbidding you from thinking about me again until I call you later, got it?"

I smiled, holding back a giggle. "I don't know if that's even doable, but okay."

He laughed exuberantly. "How's this? I'll try and stop thinking about you, if you try and stop thinking about me, deal?"

"Deal," I said with a sigh, wondering whether he knew I'd never be able to stop thinking about him for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

"Good. Look, I have to go again, but we'll talk later." He paused. "I love you."

I closed my eyes, forgetting that I was in a room full of my friends. "I love you, too."

The line went dead soon after. When I returned my gaze to the others, I could tell they were all trying to occupy themselves so it didn't look as if they were sitting there listening to my conversation.

When I handed the phone back to Rosalie, I moved a little closer to make it easier for me to join in. A short while later, Emmett and Edward disappeared off upstairs at the command of Henry and Lewis. I knew it was some kind of Xbox business, so none of us went up to interrupt them.

Bella, Rosalie and I were left to talk between ourselves in the main room. The conversation waned after a while, and we sat in silence for a little while, before finally Bella broke it.

"So, Alice…you and Jasper are saying 'I love you'? Is that a recent thing…or…?"

Her voice trailed away, leaving it open for me to continue. I smiled to myself, as I thought back to the first time he'd told me he loved me. It was hard to believe it had been over two months since that day.

"Since about the start of May, so not really recent," I told them after unsuccessfully trying to remember the specific date. "It was only a few weeks after we got together, but…after everything, it was natural, you know?"

They both nodded; their expressions wistful.

"I can remember when Edward first said it to me," Bella said quietly, smiling delicately to herself as she played with the tassel of her top. "It was just after my sixteenth birthday. He was playing me something, and suddenly he stopped and just came out with it."

I sighed gently, remembering the day she'd told me. It was so…_Edward_, and it never failed to make me smile. Not many people knew that Edward could play the piano, hell, I wasn't even sure Emmett knew, let alone Jasper. But he played a lot for Bella, and in turn, she'd describe it to me and Rosalie.

I'd never heard him play, but I knew one day that he'd share his apparent talent with the rest of us.

"What about you, Rose?" Bella went on. "Didn't Emmett say it when you were kids?"

Rosalie laughed, nodding along. "We were ten. To his credit, he said it on Valentine's Day. He had this stupidly big grin on his face, and he suddenly blurted it out. I doubt he really knew what it meant at that age…but I never forgot it."

A smile spread across my face as she finished. Like with Edward, Emmett's first declaration of love was so in character. It made me think about the first time Jasper told me, and I knew that he was just the same as his best friends.

It was then that I realised I'd broken the small promise we'd made to each other. I'd told him I wouldn't think about him, but since the call, I'd done nothing _but_ think about him.

I giggled to myself, gaining a few quizzical looks from Bella and Rosalie, as I realised it didn't actually matter.


End file.
